The economy of the United States, if not of the world, depends to a great extent on fleets of large trucks for the distribution of goods, such as foods, consumer products, durable goods, and even industrial equipment. There are many manufacturers of such trucks, which concern primarily, but are not limited to, class 7 or class 8 over-the-road trucks. Once these trucks are manufactured, they require shipment or transportation either to the carrier or other company for whom the truck was made, or to a dealer who sells or leases these trucks. The most obvious method to transport these trucks is by driving them directly to their destination. This method has disadvantages, at least because each truck requires a driver, who must be paid for his or her services and for whom return transportation must be arranged.
In order to overcome the necessity of a driver for delivering each truck, a variety of techniques have been devised to use a first truck that will carry or tow one or more additional trucks to the desired destination. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,214. This patent discloses a tow bar that attaches to the fifth wheel of both the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle. The towed vehicle is towed in a rear-ward fashion behind the front vehicle. Using this technique, the towed vehicle is exposed to the full force of the air that is encountered during the tow. Any aerodynamic surfaces of the towed vehicle will be subjected to reverse stresses, i.e., the wind will impose loads on the truck at 180° from the direction expected during the design of the truck. Thus, the roof cap, side fairings, and any additional fairings, such as side and chassis fairings, should be braced or buttressed for the trip. This adds additional cost to the delivery of the truck. In addition, it is not clear that, even using both fifth wheels, the towed truck will have sufficient freedom of movement to be able to rotate slightly during turns.
Another technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,985, in which a vehicle is towed or transported while facing forward. The technique involves hoisting the front axle of a towed vehicle onto the rear of a towing vehicle. The technique works well, but one disadvantage is that the forward portion of the towed vehicle must be raised a considerable height in order to mate with a towing saddle that is secured to the towing vehicle. Another disadvantage is that the towing saddle itself is secured to the towing vehicle by means of long U-bolts which extend around and under the vehicle frame members. These frame members are typically elongated C-channels with solid webs facing outward and the hollow portions and flanges of the “C”s facing inwardly.
One arrangement is shown in FIG. 1. A combination saddle 10 includes a saddle head 12, J-claws 14 and J-bolts 16, and a kingpin 18. Saddle head 12 pivots on kingpin 18 to allow movement of the towed vehicle for turns and other maneuvers. The towed vehicle is secured by its front axle 20 to the saddle head. Combination saddle 10 and mounting plates 26 are secured to the frame 24 members of the towing vehicle by U-bolts 28. Each mounting plate 26 typically has four orifices or slots, positioning two slots on each side of frame member 24 and using two U-bolts on each side of the vehicle, for a total of four, of which two are depicted in FIG. 1. U-bolts 28 are positioned to surround the towing vehicle frame members 22. These frame members are typically the C-shaped channels discussed above, having a channel body or web 22a and flanges 22b. The flanges typically face inwardly and also face each other, as shown.
The U-bolts are secured by nuts 30 and preferably locking washers 32. It is preferred to use expendable materials, such as wood, between frame 26 and the truck frame 24, to prevent wear and chafing. This arrangement requires very long U-bolts, which may be expensive. In addition, there is potential for chafing and wear along the entire length of the bolts.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for securing a towing apparatus, such as a saddlemount, to a towing or transporting vehicle. The method should not require long U-bolts and should be easy to install. The invention provides such an improved apparatus and method. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.